Ban meets UN Council powers on Syria

UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Friday met with UN ambassadors from Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States after cutting short a visit to Europe over the Syria chemical weapons crisis.

Ban has been pressing US President Barack Obama and other world leaders not to allow a military strike on Syria until UN experts have finished their work in the country.

"He intends to engage with member states on developments in Syria, starting today at noon (1600 GMT) with a meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council," said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.

Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said the envoys would look for an "update" on the inquiry by the UN inspectors and a "general discussion" about events in Syria.

UN chemical weapons inspectors are due to leave Syria on Saturday and give Ban a first briefing on their investigation into a suspected attack with the banned arms near Damascus on August 21.

The United States and its allies are considering a military strike on Syria over the attack. Russia and China are fiercely opposed to such a move.